Philippines Tour

The Philippines is an arch pelagic country located in Southeast Asia. The Philippine archipelago comprises 7,107 islands in the western Pacific Ocean, sharing maritime borders with Indonesia, Malaysia, Palau, the Republic of China (Taiwan), and Vietnam.

Ready to explore untouched beaches, matchless marine reservation, fascinating forests then Philippines tour is the answer. Tourism has brought a great inflow of foreign currency to Philippines. Manila, capital city is a busy place acting as a prime hub of tourist destination. Travel within the city is hassle free as public transport is cheap and frequent. Popular destinations are Manila, Tangaytay, Baguio, Hundred Islands, Cebu, Davao and Banaue.

Holidays can be adventurous, explorative or relaxing in Philippines. Lodging is available even inremote islands of Philippines. Manila with its old city Intramuros is very interesting as a tourist destination. A trip to Bamboo Organ or Sarao Jeepney factory is captivating. Tagaytay a province in Laguna is popular among tourists for hot sulphur springs. Hundred Islands has second largest marine reservation in the world. Benaue with its rice terraces contends for a place as one of the eight wonders of the world. Boracay in Cebu province is the most popular beach destination island. Knowing Filipino, the national language is not mandatory as one can easily manage with English. Make your vacation memorable by planning a tour to Philippines.

Hotels in Manila
Descriptive Sentence: Ready to explore untouched beaches, matchless marine reservation, fascinating forests? Then Philippines tour is the answer. Tourism has brought a great inflow of foreign currency to Philippines. Manila, the capital city is a busy place acting as a prime hub of tourist destination. Travel within the city is hassle free as public transport is cheap, frequent and close to the hotels in Manila. Popular destinations are Manila, Tangaytay, Baguio, Hundred Islands, Cebu, Davao and Banaue.

Book Extract - The aura of the Philippines

"As plans for this study-tour were in progress a couple of months ago, my friend
remarked, ‘The Philippines is second only to Singapore in terms of the East
meeting the West.’

I could not disagree with him, as I glimpsed Manila upon landing at the
airport. For a second, the beautiful city seemed to be a fusion of all Metropolitan
cities of India with warm and friendly people ready to welcome any visitor.
I started to get a glimpse of local Filipino culture with the passage of
several jeepneys, pick-up trucks and tricycles ferrying passengers through the city.
Then there were international food joints and shops, people, culture and
corporations from all over the world. It had the feel of an international city.
As Indians walk around the streets of Manila conversing in Hindi, Filipinos
immediately shout with excitement, ‘Bombay, Bombay.’ Similarly, we try to
memorise the lyrics of the famous Tagalog song ‘Bebot, Bebot’ (literally, but
manage only to shout the easy-to-remember words ‘Filipino, Filipino, Filipino,
Filipino ‘. Bebot is a Tagalog slang meaning pretty woman. Tagalog is the second
widely spoken language in the Philippines, after the national language, Filipino.
Source: Wikipedia

Restaurants in the Philippines mostly serve pork and beef. Fried chicken is
also available in many places, but one has to hunt around to get good seafood. On
one funny instance, I ordered a local snack, Chicharon, as they resembled Pani
Puris. Pani Puris is a common and popular street food in India. Before I could take
a bite, our local friend Matthew Lim alerted me by saying that pork skin is the
primary ingredient of the Chicharons that I had bought. I had to politely gift him
all the packs! There are also vegetarian Chicharons available, but it was purely
coincidental that my hands picked and asked to pack for the ones with pork, since
Chicharons are traditionally made of pork in the Philippines and hence are
available in far greater quantities here than their vegetarian counterpart!
Food. Though the Philippines is the second largest archipelago in the world
with more than 7000 islands (Indonesia is the world’s largest archipelago with
more than 17,000), sea-food is apparently not as abundant as pork or beef or even
fried chicken. This is a huge disappointment for first-time visitors, including yours
truly! I am told that there are more vegetables and seafood in the provinces
though, especially in areas that practise agriculture and fishing. Hence, I hoped
for better luck while visiting the other islands!

Taxis are the best, quickest and safest way of commuting in Manila at any
time of the day. Apart from the comfort, it works out very economically,
especially if you are in a group. But the caveat is that they don’t allow more than
five persons in a taxi (excluding the driver). The fare for minimum distance is 40
pesos for the first three kilometres (One USD equals 41.16 pesos at the time this
book is published) and then it is eight Pesos for every kilometre.
Tricycles are usually a means to move within an area with typical fares
ranging from 17 pesos and to 25 pesos. (It also depends on the kind of area where
you ride the tricycle, and how far you go. Near the Panay house, for example,
tricycle fares can go up to 30-40 pesos, but in Katipunan, it won’t go beyond 30
pesos.)

Metro Manila’s party scene is electrifying even to non-drinkers. Whilst
there are many pubs and bars in all parts of Metro Manila, be it Quezon City or
Pasay City, one must not miss a visit to Makati to get a glimpse of the city’s active
night life. (Makati is also the country’s financial capital. If you stroll along Ayala
Avenue, Makati, during the day, it appears like Wall Street and it is very difficult
to find a residential area there. Although there are some, they are usually located
within walled subdivisions that aren’t obvious from the main roads, and are
normally accessible only by entering gates. There are also some parts of Makati
that are not as developed as the industrial centres, so you can also see some
middle-class/lower-class houses there.)

All roads for parties lead to Jupiter Street, Makati, and we used to hang
around Fiamma, Jupiter Street, that holds the promises of its brand proposition:
‘Friday night is FIAMMA Night!’A friend in another project hosted his farewell at
Republiq Club at Resorts World, Pasay (a city in Metro Manila) and this offers an
experience akin to Las Vegas. One can find almost all nationalities in the club on a
busy day like Friday or Saturday and it kind of signifies the globalisation of Party
culture!

Money: The Philippines stock exchange, along with several international
banks and financial corporations, paint a complete picture of a financial hub.
Similarly, Asian Development Bank (ADB) is a few kilometres away from Makati.
ADB’s car park extends to more than ten floors and is the readily-visible landmark
from the Ortigas MRT station (Ortigas itself is actually a part of Pasig City, and it is
a business district in Metro Manila).
Currency exchange service centres can be found mostly in major cities like
Manila and Cebu, especially in huge shopping centres. It is better to exchange
currency here as it is difficult to find them in the provinces. It is also advisable to
carry adequate pesos or use travel cards to withdraw money, as ATM’s are
everywhere anyway.

Our itinerary lists a trek to Mount Pulag to view the spectacular sunrise and
worship the sun god as an immediate ‘to-do’. We have a day to do shopping for
the trek. Walking a few yards from Xavierville 1, the place where we are staying,
we reach Katipunan Light Rail Transit (LRT) Station (an underground station in
Manila). From there we take a train and reach Cubao LRT, which is just two stops
away for a fare of 12 pesos. There are two big malls, Gateway Mall, just behind
the station and the other Farmers Plaza, on the next street. (Most of the stations
in Manila are connected to malls behind and more often than not one has to go to
train stations via malls, a treat to shopaholics (Not to forget mentioning SM Cubao,
Ali Mall, and Shop wise all just within the vicinity)). While shopping in the former
is expensive, it is reasonable in the case of the latter. From raincoats to sun
creams to torches and sports shoes, we buy all accessories required for the trek
here."